Little Miss Independent...

I have a very independent girl on my hands. My mom lovingly reminds me that I too was a very independent and fearless child, and got a broken leg to prove it. Alexa has shown her independence since she was about 8 months old. She didn't like for me to feed her baby food... she wanted to feed herself. We started finger foods pretty early because of this- I knew she needed to eat, and if she wanted to feed herself- so be it. She would let me get a few spoonfuls in, and then eat whatever finger food was there. About a month ago, she decided that SHE wanted to use the spoon- no more letting mama do it... so we are in the process of Alexa learning how to use utensils.


She has the spoon to mouth coordination surprisingly down pat.



She just doesn't always have the spoon the right side up...



or get the right side into her mouth...



but she loves doing it and she is very proud of herself!


I am ready for her to get the hang of it-- taking three baths a day is a lot for a little girl (and her mama!)


Along with her independent use of a kitchen utensils, Alexa is quickly picking up new signs to communicate with me. Her repetoire of signs now consist of: more, all done, drink, fish, milk, dog, love, teeth, brush teeth and please. She kind of knows water, which is a taking a "W" and putting it to your chin. She knows it has something to do with putting your fingers on your chin, but her fingers usually just end up in her mouth. It's pretty dang cute.

I have had a few naysayers talk to me about how signs could delay her language and she could focus to much on signing rather than talking, etc. but I think it is an awesome thing. I have done some research on the benefits of baby sign and research shows that the use of baby sign actually can increase a child's language expression skills and IQ and help them be more prepared for kindergarten, but that isn't why I am choosing to teach her signs... I am choosing to teach her signs so she can tell me what she needs, wants, and likes. She can point to a strawberry and sign "please" to let me know she wants it, rather than just whining about it while grabbing for it. Sure the whining occurs too, but she knows that asking for it with her signs is the only way she will get what she wants. If she wants a drink, all she has to do is ask. It seems like it makes both our lives easier- she can let me know what she wants, and I don't have to play a guessing game.

As far as it delaying her language skills, I suppose that could happen, but Mark and I are already expecting a slight delay in her language expression skills because we are teaching her two languages (Mark is fluent in Spanish). We know that the best time for a person to learn a language is NOW and we both believe that Alexa speaking Spanish will benefit her in the future in many ways. Her pediatrician told us that what we are doing is absoultely the best thing for her in the long run, but we can expect 2-5 month delay in her expression as she tries to sort out the languages. To me, it's worth it because I know it will help her in the future.

Walking!

(This post is a little old, I wrote it a little over a month ago, but must have forgotten to post it!)

So I officially have a toddler on my hands. It is hard to believe that just a year ago Alexa could barely hold her head up, and now she is toddling all over the place. My little girl is growing up! She took her first steps on April 16, two weeks after her first birthday. The steps were unassisted, but Mark and I were sitting right there encouraging her. Over the next few weeks, she started to get a little bolder, would walk like 4-8 steps at a time and then get down and crawl. This past week though, she is a walker! Now when she falls, she stands back up and keeps walking... it is pretty neat to see her persistence in continuing to try even after she falls. She has a hard time outside because of the uneven ground and different textures, but she sure tries! I love seeing her walk, although walking has sure brought out Alexa's independent streak. She has had a mind of her own for months now, but now that she is aware she can go where she wants... there is no stopping her! She is a brave little girl and has no fear of getting hurt. I love that she is willing to try new things, but I do worry she may hurt herself... I guess I just have to keep a close eye on her!

Here are a few pics of Alexa walking!

Birthday fun!

I really wanted to catch up a little more from Alexa's birthday-- a quick snippet didn't really seem to do it justice.... we had a crazy couple of weeks around the time of her birthday (Brooks' wedding, bachelor and bachelorette party, Mark's dad's birthday, etc) so that whole time seems a little like a blur. One of the highlights for me was getting to see my mom for a little over a week to help us celebrate Alexa turning one!

On Alexa's actual birthday, her daddy got to take the day off and spend it with us! We had a lot of shopping to do for her party, so she came along for the ride. We had gotten a shirt that said 1st Birthday and bought her a Pink crown to wear-- she even wore sunglasses around! She knew she was cute!



We had a cupcake for her around 10:00 at night, so needless to say, she was pretty grumpy! We got a few good shots in before bedtime!





And the grumpiness starts...


Her actual party was the day after her birthday at her Bamma and Papa's house. I wanted to do a party for our family and close friends-- sounds pretty easy right?? Well, not when you consider Mark's family alone bring about 35 people along with it! So add in the friends and our own family and we were expecting around 50 people! It was crazy and I don't think we'll be doing it again anytime soon. We planned a luau (Mark's request) and wanted everyone to dress in the Hawaiian clothes. We had tons of food, and I made a hula girl cake. I think it turned out to be quite the success!

Dancing with Charley (her cousin)...



The cakes- one to smash, one for everyone else!



We weren't sure how Alexa would do with the cake- she hasn't ever had sugar like that before... SHE LOVED IT!!!


She was on a sugar high while opening gifts... it was pretty funny-- she couldn't get them open fast enough so she would use her feet! She got WAY too many toys, but we sure appreciate them all!






One year of precious, amazing memories down... countless more to go. I knew having a baby would change my life-- I never thought it would inspire me to be the best I can be.

A night without Alexa...

Mark took Alexa home to Woodbine until Monday, so I am faced with the first time I will be away from my little girl since she was born. Well, that isn't exactly true, about 3 months after she was born, I spent the night in a hotel in Jacksonville and was away from her for like 12 hours. But this will be the first extended time away from her ever... and I'm not sure what to do with my time. I'd like to say I have books I've been meaning to read, or hobbies to do, but I really don't. I'd love to catch up on her scrapbook, but the pictures I ordered haven't come in yet, and I don't really have anything new to try... which leads me to the discovery.....

I'm beginning to get a little stir crazy in my stay at home mom job. Don't get me wrong, I love it so much and wouldn't trade it for anything... but I don't really feel like I have much of a life apart from my daughter. I really need to get involved at church or volunteering or something, but it is hard since we don't know how long we will be here in Atlanta. I guess I just need to find a new hobby and wait my time out... I am going to try a new church tomorrow here in Atlanta so maybe that will be a good place to start.

Anyway...
I do have some news about Alexa... she is really starting to walk well and learned two new signs, "milk" and my favorite "love!" Now she can sign love to me!!! That is pretty fun. I'm so glad I decided to teach her signs- she seems to really enjoy communicating with Mark and me and it is fun to let her communicate what she wants. We only have a handful more that I really want her to learn (thank you, please, sorry, help and potty) but I'll keep working with new ones as long as she wants to learn.

A year later...

So, I have done a horrible job at keeping up to date with my blog. I can blame it on a lot of things, but it really is me just forgetting over and over. I thought about trying to catch up on everything that has happened, but really, how do you catch up on six months of a newborn's life? So, instead of doing that, I'll just go over some highlights and then just start again from here.



Halloween-- Alexa was a bee (obviously), I was the flower and Mark was the beekeeper. I made my costume and I think it turned out ok! It was a lot of fun to go trick or treating with Alexa- I can't wait until she is a little older to really enjoy it!

Crawling! Alexa started crawling officially on Thanksgiving- she was a week shy of 8 months. Once she decided she was ready to start moving, she didn't stop! She had a busy eighth month: got her first tooth, said dada for the first time, starting pulling up and cruising around. Plus Christmas came during her 8th month and Santa brought her a fun house to play it and she ended up with WAY too many toys from all her family and friends.


Mama, puppy, and fish were the next words to come, although she is still hit or miss on a lot of words. She babbles constantly and loves to laugh!


Her first birthday was a blast... check out the pictures on my picture page- we were so excited that Grandma Cindi got to celebrate this special day with us!

We are now temporarily living in Atlanta for Mark's work. He moved up here in December and Alexa and I joined him in March. We are hoping to stay here as long as possible, but things are still up in the air. Alexa has handled the transistion really well- she doesn't even seem to notice anything is going on! It is hard on me to be away from our friends and family, but we are enjoying all that Atlanta has to offer. We've been to the GA Aquarium three times, Stone Mountain twice, Zoo Atlanta once and even a Braves game with Bamma and Papa (Mark's parents) I'll post some pictures to these outings soon.

Alexa is so full of life and smiles... I truly think she is the best baby in the whole world! I WILL keep this blog updated because I think that the gift that is Alexa needs to be shared with as many people as possible!

Kitty dreams!

A few weeks ago, we were shocked to see that our cat Georgia had a baby of her own! She gave birth to an adorable little black and white kitten. When she got old enough, we introduced her to Alexa... the pictures speak for themselves- she was pretty fascinated with the kitty. She was a little unsure at first, so Mark had to make sure she knew it was safe.


It didn't take long for Alexa to give the kitty hugs and pet her. She was enthralled by her fur!


Of course, it didn't take long for the kitten to end up in her mouth... at this age, anything Alexa can put in her mouth, she will!



It is going to be hard to give the kitten away since Alexa seems to like her so much, but three cats are enough to deal with. I love the innocence that Alexa sees the world with- everything is so interesting and fascinating to her. I am trying to learn to see the world through her eyes and appreciate the world around me more.

Dreaming of ice cream...

... and yogurt, and milk, oh and peanut butter... the list goes on and on...

Man, I must sure love Alexa- this not eating dairy is getting harder and harder for me. For those of you who don't know about it, Alexa is a multiple food protein intolerances (MFPI)baby, which pretty much just means she is unable to digest certain food proteins- in her case dairy, soy and peanuts. Because I am breastfeeding her, if I eat any of those foods, it is transferred to her through the milk and makes her a pretty miserable baby. I have been relatively dairy free since her birth, but I didn't cut out all forms of hidden dairy (items with milk in it) until just over three months. I went on an elimination diet which cuts out pretty much all food with the exception of a few for two weeks and then started to incorporate new foods as I could. I pretty much had it narrowed down after about a month and she is like a new baby- happy as can be and her reflux is soooo much better.

Hopefully she will outgrown her allergies, many MFPI babies do by 3 years and their digestive system matures. I may start incorporating some hidden soy to see if she tolerates it, but until then, I may just have to keep dreaming! You would be shocked to find out just how many things have soy and dairy in it... for instance, I had to change our spaghetti sauce because there is dairy in it. So that is why I am dreaming of ice cream-- Mark had a blizzard from Dairy Queen the other day- and ever since then... oh, what we do for our babies! For awhile it was getting easier, but then it got so stinking got here in Georgia the last week or so. You know that stifling hot that nothing seems to help? That is what it has been here. We've had 90 degree days pretty much all summer, but it has seemed worse lately. Maybe I'm just ready to be able to spend some time outside with my little girl- I just know I'm ready for fall to arrive.

In other Alexa news, she has been able to sit up on her own for a few minutes. She still uses her hands like a tripod, but she is sitting pretty independently! Here is a picture we took at Mark's parents- it is kind of hard to see, but she is sitting by herself!


Here is a cute picture of Alexa and her cousin Charley (Jessica's daughter)- she is exactly 11 months older and she loves Alexa so much! She loves giving her kisses!

Alexa also got her first little haircut- she was born with a ton of dark hair, that has been slowly falling out. She was left with three tufts of hair, one on each side and one at the top. So I trimmed it up for her. I'm no hairdresser, but it turned out pretty good!

Before:

During:

After: I'll have to get a good after picture...